What Every BODY Is Saying : An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed Reading People

48 WHAT EVERY BODY IS SAYING

(see figure 17). This ventilating action is often a reaction to stress and is a
good indicator that the person is unhappy with something he is think-
ing about or experiencing in his environment. A woman may perform
this nonverbal activity more subtly by merely ventilating the front of her
blouse or by tossing the back of her hair up in the air to ventilate her
neck.

The Self-Administered Body-Hug

When facing stressful circumstances, some individuals will pacify by
crossing their arms and rubbing their hands against their shoulders, as
if experiencing a chill. Watching a person employ this pacifying behav-
ior is reminiscent of the way a mother hugs a young child. It is a protec-
tive and calming action we adopt to pacify ourselves when we want to

BOX 12: FROM FACEBOOK TO DISGRACEBOOK

During an interview for a job, an applicant was being questioned by his

prospective employer. Everything was going well until, toward the end of

the interview, the candidate began talking about networking and the im-

portance of the Internet. The employer complimented him on this com-

ment and made an offhand remark about how most college graduates

used the Internet to network in a destructive way, using sites like Face-

book to post messages and pictures that would prove to be an embar-

rassment later in the person’s life. At that point, the employer noticed

that the candidate did a vigorous leg cleansing with his right hand, wip-

ing it along his thigh several times. The employer said nothing at the

time, thanked the young man for the interview, and walked him out of the

office. He then returned to his computer—his suspicion aroused by the

candidate’s pacifying behavior—and checked to see if the young man’s

profile was on Facebook. Sure enough, it was. And it was not flattering!